


This Summer...

by latenightlionheart



Series: Home is Wherever I'm With You [3]
Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Fluff, Love, M/M, Summer, Summer Vacation, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 16:41:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11810007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/latenightlionheart/pseuds/latenightlionheart
Summary: It's summer, finally. And just the kind of summer Heath always looks forward to, the kind he feels they've definitely earned after the long winter that's just passed...a full week spread out empty, beautiful in its blankness.





	This Summer...

It's summer, _finally_. And just the kind of summer Heath always looks forward to too, the kind he feels they've definitely earned after the long winter that's just passed. Or, at least _feels_ like it's just passed, anyway. It had been much colder than usual, month after month of record shattering deep freezes that made Heath feel like winter had only just released him from its icy grip, like he'd only just stopped shovelling snow and put his heavy parka away for the year. Made him almost forget it rained nearly the entirety of May and June. Almost.  
  
July though, so far, has brought only the brightest of sunshine soaked days and warm, breezy nights. Sunny and just hot enough, the kind of summer where it's a shame to be inside at all, Heath thinks, and with a boyfriend like Justin, well, saying he loves the outdoors would be just a _little_ bit of an understatement.

The lawnmower's broken - again - so the grass out the back of the house is tall, wildflowers popping up in patches, unseen little critters rustling through now and then. The trees are heavy with leaves, the extra rainy spring encouraging everything to be just that bit more green, lush, bountiful. It may not be pretty to their neighbours, - who Heath figures must have golf course calibre manicured lawns and gardening magazine worthy flower beds, what with all the notes he gets in the mailbox regarding acceptable lawn furniture and birdfeeders - but there's a reason the fence Heath put up is high and made of solid wood. Well, one of many reasons.  
  
Heath's got one good week off now and another coming up in August, his foreman had insisted on it, despite Heath's protesting. (He didn't mind working more, really - he needed the money anyway, roofs and mortgages don't pay for themselves, you know.) But there were no jobs booked those weeks anyway, so Heath relented. And now here it is, a full week spread out empty, beautiful in its blankness. Nowhere to be, nothing to be done, just like the summer vacation he always had longed for in his childhood.   
  
"Let's save the road trip for August," Justin says, tucking the map from the gas station back under the pile of take-out flyers on the counter. "Truck AC'll be fixed by then, we'll definitely need it."  
  
Staycation it is then. Which is just fine by Heath, there's plenty to do around the house anyway and honestly, even if this week only entails bbq-ing, bonfires and his boyfriend, well, that's a pretty good vacation, Heath thinks. A pretty damn fine vacation indeed.  
  
Heath eases into it, finally allowing himself to sleep in after the first few days, enjoying the late breakfasts that Justin's made for him out on the deck. Out in the yard all day just relaxing until dinner, until it's dark enough to light a fire, then sit by it and talk, long into the night.  
  
Justin's usually not one to stay still for long and Heath wonders if he'd rather be out doing _something_ , anything other than just _this_. Still in the grass, in the shade of the willow and the sycamore, the afternoon passing slow, easy. Heath barely makes eye contact before Justin's looking back at him, his smile sleepy and wide. Maybe it's some kind of summer hibernation or something, Heath thinks.

Heath's birthday brings a cook-out and cheap fireworks shot off on the edge of the property where there's a small clearing. The boom echoes over the pond, but this year Justin doesn't even flinch at the noise, even lights a few off himself. And just when Heath thinks it can't get any better, Justin's got one last gift for him - a hammock.

The next day, they set it up between the two biggest trees looking out over the yard. After several failed attempts (thank goodness for all that soft grass) they figure out how to both fit, their bodies tangled in just the right way so they can swing, lazy and carefree, from early afternoon straight to dinnertime. The hammock's an instant fave, for naps and chats, for cloud watching and stargazing alike.

When the week is almost up, Heath can't stand it anymore, he has to ask. Justin has to be bored out of his mind by now, right? Were tendencies aside, his life before _here_ , before Heath, always seemed so...exciting. He had the life of an adventurer, a constant tourist. Whether it was for an assignment or for a thrill, Justin seemed to be perpetually on the edge of something - of the world, of a cliff, _something_.  
  
So Heath has to ask.  
  
"Are you sure?"

Justin yawns, shoving his chin into Heath's shoulder. "Hm? Sure about what?"

"That you're not, y'know, bored or nothing? Like, at all?"

"Bored? Why would you..."

"Yeah, bored. Of...doin' nothing? Of here, of, y'know just _this_ \--"

"Just _this_?" Justin repeats and Heath swallows hard, stops the swing of the hammock, one bare foot planted, firm. He's not sure how to interpret that tone and Justin's seemingly ever-present smile is gone, his heavy eyebrows raised.

"Whu-What?" Heath spits out. "You _are_ bored? Or--"

Justin shakes his head. "You really don't--Oh, Heath," he says, voice softening, along with his expression. " _Just this_? You need to know, _this_? It's perfect, all right?"

"Yeah?"

"Yes," Justin says, his face returning to Heath's shoulder to nuzzle in again. "This whole week has been really nice."

"I think it's been nice too. Been great just spending all day together," Heath says, letting out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "Though, I want ya to pick out some places to go in August. Some spots where you can get some good pictures? I know you probably ain't had much to work with lately."

"Wrong again," Justin says with a laugh and grabs his phone from his pocket. "I wanna show you something. Look..."

Justin's pulled up his photo gallery and in between average cell phone snaps of varying quality, to Heath's surprise, are some beautifully composed shots.

"You took all these? Here?"

"I did."  
  
"You got some real nice ones," Heath says, watching the pictures change from birds to sunsets, to soft focus wildflowers and tall wheatgrass, sunlight reflecting off the pond.

"You might have thought I was bored but..." Justin continues flicking through more pictures until it lands on one, - definitely taken with the blurry phone camera - that makes Heath's breath catch in his throat when he sees it.  
  
"Remember this moment?" Justin says softly, and Heath remembers: remembers swatting at that mosquito bothering them, the chirp of the crickets, the smell of the bonfire nearby burning bright, remembers Justin pulling him closer, whispering, "Say ' _I love my werewolf boyfriend!_ '" (Oh he  _does_ _._  Like really, really does...)

"I remember," Heath says, using his finger to zoom in a little on their faces, their smiles. "We look..."

"Happy? Because we were--I _am_ , Heath, happy. Here, with you."

"That's good to hear," Heath says, starting the swing of the hammock again. "Real good to hear. Hey, I really like those pictures. We should hang some up in the house, what you say?"  
  
"Sure. Hopefully I can sell a few prints too, then we'll have some extra road trip money."  
  
"About that...any ideas on where ya wanna go yet?"  
  
"Ohh, I don't know," Justin's already laughing and Heath knows why, he saw the brochure wedged into the map, the one that kept "appearing" on the kitchen table, on the nightstand, not exactly subtle. "Where were _you_ thinking we should go?"

"...You just wanna go to up to that wolf themed water park, don't ya?!"

"Um, yes! Don't you?!"

"Don't ya think it's a little, well, corny? What with you bein' an actual--"  
  
"I don't think so. And no one will know but us! Well, unless there's other were also there. Which there might be!"  
  
"Oh, _really_?" Heath chuckles. "I'm pretty sure it's for kids, babe."  
  
"Hey, now look, Wild Wolf Waterworks is a _howling_ good time for the _whole_ pack, says right here on the website!" Justin says, pointing at his phone screen.   
  
"Well who can argue with that! Guess we gotta go for sure now."  
  
"It has _fourteen_ different slides, Heath! And a lazy river _and_ a log ride. I know you love a good log ride!"  
  
Heath's laugh is loud, and so is Justin's, and the hammock is shaking right along with them.  
  
"You know, you're not wrong..."  
  
When the sun sets, they tumble out of the hammock and back into the house to plan out their next great adventure. As they look at routes and roadside attractions, at motels and possible pit stops, there's one thing that they both agree on, that they know in their hearts - as long as they're together, wherever they go, whatever they do, it's going to be unforgettable.

 

**Author's Note:**

> SURPRISE - it's more fluffy werewolf fic! Additional title for this series: Another Peek into the Life of The Carewolf (tm) and his Caring Boyfriend. Read [these](http://archiveofourown.org/series/634796) first if you haven't yet. :)
> 
> Ummmm, I love these two, bye!


End file.
